Pros

Cons

Middling Matchmaking.
Not much of a story going on.
Loading issues persist.
Not much of end game content.
Too many technical hitches.

Bottom Line

Anthem is at best, okay. The combat is pleasant, the synergy with the javelins is great but there’s so much limiting it from being great and Bioware needs to put in a lot of work here on out to bring this game true to life as they envisioned it.

Feb. 24, 2019

If there was any sentiment, I could express to experience the nature of Anthem from the moment I heard about it first, it was cautious optimism. Bioware just came off from making Mass Effect: Andromeda and the studio was in the line of fire after how the game performed. I, personally, loved Mass Effect but it was ultimately buried because they were working on the next biggest thing.

Now that the next biggest thing is here, I’m offering mostly a player’s perspective on Anthem, this is keeping aside the general consensus about EA and AAA gaming industry. A lot of people are going in playing this video game expecting the worst and I can’t really fault them for thinking that way with the way this release has been handled.

In what looks to be similar to how EA handled Titanfall 2’s launch by putting it between popular games, Anthem faces a similar situation but no one could have anticipated how popular, Apex Legends, from sister studio Respawn, would have gotten and a surprise release of out nowhere saved and shot EA in the foot equally. I want this game to do well, I want Bioware to continue making amazing stories but unfortunately with a game that’s been hyped, a lot has been expected out of Anthem which they may not deliver on and thus questions on Bioware begin to arise.

Games as a service is a concept that people are educating themselves and studios are now more than ever held to a higher standard of scrutiny when they release a game, in Anthem’s case, more so given their multiple launch dates.

However, I’ve played it Anthem from the closed and open betas, I’ve waited for most of their biggest patches to come through that fix most issues and after spending close to 50 hours completing the end game and there’s a lot of good in the game if you’re really vested in playing it but Anthem’s questionable design choices seem to limit it in a lot of ways. It’s worth mentioning that even your flying’s limited severely in some way so like any free bird, you’re allowed to enjoy it in the limited space that’s offered.

It’s hard to review MMO’s with a one-time score since they are constantly changing as a live service game. Quite frankly, I would be seeing a different reception entirely had Anthem been a single player experience. So, I’m reviewing Anthem, as is, in its current state and this review, may not be reflective of the same issues I write about later as the year goes on.

Right off the bat, Anthem is a looter shooter, much like Destiny which I feel Anthem tries to emulate a lot out of. Say what you will about Destiny, the game had a rough launch and with the way Activision handled Destiny 2, the popularity for looter shooters is waning and it's something that Anthem could have anticipated and filled the world with a much-needed lift for the genre. Instead, Anthem is quite shallow and there are too many little things that annoyed me which added up to a whole dissatisfied experience altogether and I'm hoping they fix it.

The world of Bastion is very easy on the eyes.

The story is set in a different planet where the human race is in constant threat of cataclysms, foreign creatures and conflicts from within with other political influences. The world where you play is made rich with their frostbite engine but in all honestly after playing metro, and seeing the level of detail what CyberPunk 2077 may offer, it seems a bit, dated.

You, the player, play the role of a freelancer (there seems to be a level of irony on not getting paid on time as a freelancer) a pilot for hire where you command a mech suit called a javelin. You initially can choose one out of the four which suit your play style but you can get them all as you progress later into the game.

Combat is very satisfying

The massive Colossus is obviously the "tankiest" of the lot and great if you want to go for absolute devastation, the Ranger which is the balanced suit, Storms harness the power of elements and finally Interceptors which are the fastest, close combat mechs. I played Interceptor exclusively since I’ve had some fun playing Warframe and still do and this was one way to experience Anthem. They all control the same however, you can jump off the ground and fly for a set amount of time before your engines overheat and then you have to land for them to cool down before you can control or fall in a nearby body of water to do this faster. Rinse, repeat, redo. This is one of the best things about the game.

Choose your flavour

You can customize the look of your javelin with expansive detail from colors to materials and install weapons and sub systems which you earn in game. Yours looks however remain purely cosmetic. As far as weapons go, each javelin can wield a number of weapons but they have specific armaments based for their suit. When you’re in a battle you earn energy to charge your ultimate attack which you can unleash on enemies to clear them off.

The game is designed for you to be in four-man squad, a cooperative experience but you can play most single player content solo or with a friend as well. Anthem’s team play comes with chaining combo attacks that damage enemies better and you can revive your fallen team mates and do some puzzles. That’s pretty much where the illusion of cooperation ends.

At some point in the story the game forces you to do a “Freeplay” mission where you go off in the world to achieve certain requirements before you can advance. I got stuck at this point before it got patched and it was here problems with the game’s narrative began.

You see, there’s no text chat, Bioware wants you to communicate with players. For whatever reason, the teams I matched up with were in no way inclined to speak nor did they want to. The matchmaking is currently broken since in one instance the game matched me on a mission that I finished in 30 seconds because the team was already so far ahead in the game when I spawned in.

Anthem encourages you to play in a group that you can choose or get assigned to. There's more rewards to get if you do so. Just be prepared to find that some experiences will be entirely silent unless you're playing with friends.

You begin to feel the identity crisis that Bioware’s done especially when you’re not in your suit. Fort Tarsis is the area you return to and makes the story building content come to life. Only that there isn’t much of that either. You view most of this in first person, talk to people and slowly, painfully walk across the area to meet new characters and learn about the world you’re in. You can also upgrade your javelin.

Are we ? Haluk?

However again as a curious design choice, conversations play out like a segment of who’s line is it anyway. They are made up and the choices don’t seem to matter. It’s also a bit jarring seeing as it’s designed for you to do some lore exploring when really all you’re doing is talk to “specific quest giver” pick up random lore piece and then off you go again. There’s a bit of a disconnect and ultimately Fort Tarsis is as hollow as any fort post apocalypse.

Fort Tarsis is the hub area where the game's story begins and continues outside of combat. Trouble is, there's not much to do here.

I braced myself for this but it’s still surprising that of all the things that have been under-cooked, it’s Bioware’s writing, something they are supposed to be good at. You finish a mission, enter a loading screen, come back to Fort Tarsis, advance the mission through dialogue, loading screen again, go to secondary side story mission, loading screen, enter a new area and after another loading screen, you repeat this.

You'll be seeing this screen a lot. They've fixed loading times but some players are reportedly still facing issues.

While you’re playing, you face wave of enemy after enemy in the same environments battling a set variety of creatures, soldiers and minions and at the end of it, is a mini boss or a main one. And right at the end you can pick up pieces of gear which some may find very underwhelming to say the least. Their menu designs need a lot of work, their story campaigns should improve and I expect Bioware to fix matchmaking to be more meaningful.

The end game is shockingly small and there’s just not much to do once you finish the meat of it all. The loot system is not really worthwhile and a lot of emphasis has been put on their storefront which thankfully remain purely cosmetic after they learned lessons with Battlefront 2.

Anthem is at best, okay. The combat is pleasant, the synergy with the javelins is great but there’s so much limiting it from being great. Time will tell whether the Anthem will be a standout hit and the community, while silent, is quite helpful so I won't be discounting this game completely just yet.

Anthem was provided through a review build from EA Middle East for the PC.

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About the Author

Kevin Sebastian is a passionate writer who lives and breathes on the internet. He started out as a Reddit lurker and eventually made his way to editorial. His curiosity for the region's burgeoning tech scene lead him to editorial positions in various tech publications managing content in technology and gaming. While Kevin is not writing or ranting about the gaming or tech industry, you can find him in far off deserts trying to practice his astrophotography, or in the city making documentaries. See Full Bio